For The Slayer Who Has Everything
by Sunnydalesis
Summary: A rewrite of Normal Again. A strange demonic plant traps Buffy in a fantasy life and a certain bleach blond vampire is the only one who can get her out of it.
1. Chapter 1

This was inspired by an episode of Supergirl called "For the Girl Who Has Everything" as well as the Superman comic that the episode was based off of I hope you enjoy, even if the first chapter is kinda short.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Buffy woke up to the glare of the bright hospital lights. The first thing she saw when she sat up is the loving smile on her mother's face.

"Mom?" Buffy asked. "What's going on?"

"You're awake!" Dawn cheered. "Omigod Buffy, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Dawn?" Buffy asked. "What happened? Why is Mom-"

"You've been sick for almost a week," a gentle voice said. Buffy looked over to her right and saw Tara smiling down on her. "Your mother has been at your side nonstop."

"I take it my daughter has finally recovered?" Buffy looked at the door of the hospital room and saw Ben and her father walking in.

"I think she has, Doctor Wilkinson," Tara said.

"B-But you're…" Buffy looked to her dad and then to her mother. "And you were…"

"You've been having a lot of nightmares," Joyce said. "Dawn says you talk in your sleep."

"This is wrong," Buffy said. "I can't be here. I want to...Where am I?"

"You're in Los Angeles Memorial Hospital," Tara said. "I'm Tara, a nursing student."

"But you and Willow-"

"Willow and all the others are waiting for you at home," Hank said.

"In Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

"Sunnydale?" Dawn asked. "Why would we live in such a boring old college town?"

"Now, Dawn, let Buffy have some space," Joyce said. "Maybe we ought to take her home. Buffy hates hospitals and I think staying here any longer will only make her remember her nightmares."

Dr. Ben gave Joyce a folder with papers and said, "Just sign these forms and you'll have her out of here in no time."

While Joyce was filling out the hospital paperwork, Tara went to get Buffy water. Dawn was jumping around excitedly, looking forward to going to the mall with her sister again. Hank congratulated Dr. Ben for all the work he and Tara did. Buffy, however, sat in her hospital bed and pondered. It didseem like she just woke up from a long nightmare. She heard Dawn listing the names of all her friends who were waiting for her. But in her heart, she knew she was missing someone. She just couldn't remember who.

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"Buffy!" Dawn said as she walked through the front door. "Buffy, where are you? You were supposed to-" She gasped as she found Buffy lying on the floor with a strange plant with tentacles wrapped around her Dawn took a closer look at the plant: seven black roses with red tongues sticking out of them, purple tentacles snaking around Buffy's arms and neck.

She checked her sister's pulse. Buffy was still alive. It was like she was asleep, only with her eyes open. Flashbacks of Mom's body rushed through Dawn's mind.

"Willow!" Dawn shouted. "Where are you?"

"Dawn, what's going on?" Willow asked as she came down the stairs.

"I don't know," Dawn said. "I was just coming home from school and I found Buffy like this."

"She was supposed to go out on patrol, looking for that nerd trio." Willow walked into the living room and gasped at the sight of Buffy lying down on the living room floor. "Oh Goddess! What is that?"

"I don't know," Dawn said. "But we need to get it off her!"

The two of them struggled to pull it off of her, but it was no use. Whatever it was had a tight grip. Dawn then noticed a package nearby.

"This must be where the plant came from," Dawn said as she grabbed the box. "There's no return address or postmarks."

All of a sudden, Xander walked in through the door.

"Xander!" Willow and Dawn said.

Xander sighed in relief and gave his favorite girls a hug. Then he took note of the sight of Buffy lying down on the living room floor.

"What happened to Buffy?" Xander asked.

"I was coming home from school and I found her like this," Dawn said.

"Do you know what it is?" Willow asked.

Xander took a look at Buffy and then at the strange plant that encased itself around her body. "I can't believe it. It's the Black Mercy.

"What's the Black Mercy?" Dawn asked.

"It's from the Superman comics," Xander said. "It traps its victims in a fantasy of their greatest desires while sucking away all their life energy."

Willow and Dawn ran to Buffy to pull the plant off of her, but Xander yelled, "Stop! Don't! If we get it off of her, it'll either try to kill her or attach itself onto us."

"So what do we do?" Dawn asked.

"The only way to get Buffy free of it is to get her to reject the reality," Xander said.

"I really don't want to," Willow said, "but if there's some kind of spell that can help us look into Buffy's mind…" Before she could finish that sentence, Willow was already out the door, on her way to the Magic Box.

"Who do you think sent it to her?" Xander asked.

"Who do you think?" Dawn said with a snarky tone. "Probably those dorks that tried to rob the bank and think that they're Buffy's mortal enemies. What are we gonna do, Xander? I don't want Willow to do any more magic."

"Find Tara," Xander said. "I'll stay here with Buffy."

Dawn nodded.

Xander sat down next to Buffy and held her hand. "Hang in there, Buffster..."

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As Buffy got in the car, she recognized the paper-maiche dice that hung in the rear view mirror. She felt some tug at her heart that told her that something was wrong. The image of her mother laid out on the living room couch, eyes wide and lifeless, flickered in her mind, but it faded as she looked out the window and watched the mountains zoom past.

"It just feels weird, Mom," Buffy said. "I feel like I need to go to Sunnydale. None of this feels...real."

"I think getting back home is what you need," Joyce said.

"But you and Dad are together and I'm not…" Buffy felt all the images in her mind slipping away like dead leaves over a rocky stream. "I'm still in college, right?"

"Of course you are, peach pie," Hank said. "Giles knows what's going on and he is willing to let you make up assignments over the Spring Break."

Buffy sighed in relief. "I can't wait to see Giles again."

All of a sudden, Buffy felt the car come to a stop in front of her old childhood home. The front porch looked just like it used to, only this time, Giles, Willow, and Xander were there waiting for her. The first person she hugged was Giles, followed by Willow and Xander. The four of them, plus Buffy's family, led Buffy inside, where everyone else was waiting for her. Anya stood up from the couch and hugged Buffy before giving Xander a loving kiss. Their gold rings glimmered in the sunlight. Buffy turned around and saw Tara walk in, greeting Willow with a sweet embrace and a kiss on the cheek. The two girls led Buffy to the dining room. Her jaw hit the floor as she saw a tall, dark, handsome man standing at the end of the table, holding a bouquet of roses.

"Angel!"

She ran to Angel and pulled him in close for a kissed. When she closed her eyes, a pair of fiery blue eyes flickered in Buffy's mind, but they faded as Buffy let go of the kiss. All of a sudden, everyone was sharing pizza and having a good time. Buffy took a deep breath and let go of all the images flashing in her mind. This was where she belonged...Right?

A small, but sharp tug at heart told her otherwise.

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	2. Chapter 2

I love writing Dawn and Tara in more assertive roles. I hope you do, too.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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Dawn found Tara heading back to her dorms after a long day of classes.

"Dawn?" Tara asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Buffy's in trouble," Dawn said, her hands shaking nervously. "Some kind of plant called the Black Mercy got her. Willow's gone to the Magic Box for spell stuff, but I don't want her to do any kind of magic. You're the only one I can trust Buffy with now." Other than Spike, she thought.

Tara sighed. "Okay."

The two ladies grabbed whatever books and spell materials they could find from Tara's dorm and went straight to Buffy's house. Xander laid Buffy down on the living room floor. Dawn found Willow in the kitchen, brewing up a potion.

"Willow, please, I don't want you doing magic," Dawn said.

"It's okay," Willow said. "This is an emergency situation. The potion I'm cooking up will hopefully burn the plant up."

"Or burn the house down." Dawn turned off the stove. "I got Tara to help."

"What?!"

The two of them went into the living room, where Willow saw Tara looking through a pile of books, comparing the plant to a demonic plant encyclopedia.

"I didn't think stuff from comic books could be related to anything demon-y," Xander said.

"You'd be surprised," Tara said. After turning a few more pages, the tawny-haired witch closed her book and waved her hands over Buffy's body.

"What are you doing?" Willow asked.

"I'm reading Buffy's aura," Tara said. "If I concentrate hard enough, we'll be able to see what is in her head."

Buffy was surrounded by a golden glow, but the glow was darkened by the purplish-black aura from the Black Mercy. The Scoobies watched as the golden glow connected with all of them, compelling them to join hands around Buffy as Tara continued chanting.

As soon as the four of them joined hands, they saw a short montage of scenes in Buffy's mind: Buffy returning to her childhood home in Los Angeles, going to a history class in UCLA, Giles being her favorite professor, having a normal relationship with Angel, and planning on a night out with all the Scoobies.

Dawn broke the circle and the spell by releasing her hands. "Where's Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Why would Dead Boy Junior be part of Buffy's fantasy life?" Xander asked. "Angel I understand, as much as I hate it."

Dawn's eyes widened in realization. Willow and Xander looked at each other worriedly. "Dawn, don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking," Xander said.

But before either of them could object, Dawn went out the door. Tara sighed and then turned to look at Willow.

"Dawn's right, though," Tara said. "Spike's the only one that's not part of the Black Mercy's fantasy, which means he has a better chance of making her realize that what she sees is not real."

"It's not gonna be easy getting Buffy out," Xander said. "In the comics, the bad guy compared it to cutting off your own arm."

"But why would someone do this to Buffy?" Willow asked.

###

Three scrawny nerds escaped from the lair of a Nezzla demon with three small rectangular boxes and returned to their newly gained hideout to open the boxes' contents.

"Gentlemen, I present to you the Orbs of Nezzla'khan," Warren said as he opened the boxes. There were six red orbs, two for each of them. "Strength. Invulnerability. The deluxe package."

"They're everything I've dreamed of," Andrew said, eyes wide with excitement.

Jonathan wasn't so sure. "You know those have been down there for like a zillion years. How do we know they still work -

Warren tightened his fist around a globe. A red blast of energy exploded around him and knocked Andrew and Jonathan back. It quickly dissipated along with the red energy that flashed in his eyes. He grinned as he felt the raw powered course through his veins.

"They work."

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Dawn and Tara found Spike at Willy's pub, drowning his sorrows. After getting Clem to cover for Spike's tab, the two ladies informed Spike about Buffy being trapped in a Black Mercy fantasy.

"Haven't seen one of those things since the Amazon Jungle…" Spike slurred. "But you really think I can help?" He slumped over onto the bar, prompting Tara to carry Spike by the arm over her shoulders. Dawn took Spike's other arm and helped Spike off of the bar stool.

"You think some hot chocolate will sober him up?" Dawn asked.

"Actually, it's good if he's close to falling asleep," Tara said. "It'll be easier to link his subconscious mind with Buffy's."

"But what if he doesn't want to?" Dawn asked.

Spike snorted. "Always be there for her. Always second best. Always love's bitch."

Tara and Dawn sighed in resignation and frustration. "Xander and Willow are not gonna like this," Dawn said. But regardless, they went out of the bar and through a series of alleyways that kept Spike in the shadows until they got to Buffy's house.

It turned out that all Spike needed to wake up was a hard right hook from Xander. The bleach blonde vampire still felt drunk, but he was awake and aware enough to finally assess what was going on.

"So basically, Glinda, what you're saying is that I have to go into Buffy's mind and get her to realize that all that she's fantasizing about is not real?" Spike asked.

Tara nodded.

"I don't see why I can't do it!" Willow said.

"You're part of the fantasy," Dawn said. "And I don't want you doing anything that might hurt Buffy."

Willow huffed and pouted. Xander sat on the couch with her, equally uncertain. The two of them could only watch as Spike laid by Buffy's side. Dawn sat at Buffy's feet, lighting up the incense and herbs needed for the spell, while Tara sat by Spike's head.

Putting her hands on Buffy and Spike's foreheads, Tara began the incantation. In seconds, Spike was surrounded by a red-orange aura. Dawn and Tara both noticed a gold light hovering over Spike's heart, connecting with Buffy's. Tara's eyes glowed white and the psychic connection was complete.

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Spike sighed in relief when he found himself in the dark outside of a nightclub. He watched as Buffy went inside the nightclub with her Scoobies as well as Angel. Using his vampire stealth, he sneaked into the club just after the fake version of Tara went inside.

As soon as Spike got into the club, he waited for an opportunity to get his dance with the Slayer. It reminded him of the time he first saw her. Buffy was so different back then, but he still felt that same pull all those years ago. He never wanted to admit it, but if his heart didn't belong to Drusilla at the time, he could've danced all night with the Slayer.

A change in the song prompted Spike out of his flashback. Angel went over to the bar to get drinks while Buffy danced with her friends. Spike made his way onto the dance floor and found himself at the Slayer's side.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked.

Buffy's eyes widened with intriguement. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice soft. "I feel like I know you."

"Let's just say we knew each other in a past life," Spike said. "If you believe in that kind of thing."

Buffy giggled. "Don't get too close. My boyfriend's the jealous type."

Spike looked over at Angel, who was already scowling at the sight of him. The bleach blonde vampire leaned in to Buffy's ear and whispered, "He probably won't like what I'm thinking then."

She gasped and held herself back from laughing. "You're probably right," she said in the flirtiest voice she could muster.

"Do you wanna get outta here?" Spike asked. "Get some air? Or at least go somewhere with a little more privacy?"

She wasn't completely sure why she felt that desire to get out of the club. But her heart was fluttering like a flock of swans and there was a sense of longing that pulled her towards him.

"Okay."

Sneaking out through a back door, Spike heard Buffy's heartbeat quickening. The two of them sighed in relief at being away from all the noise inside. Buffy just couldn't stop laughing though. As much as Spike loved the way she laughed, he knew he had to get her out. Might as well give it the old college try, he thought. He cupped Buffy's face in his hands and lowered his lips onto hers…

Only to feel himself being pulled away from Buffy, followed by a very hard punch in the face. Spike looked up and suddenly found himself surrounded. Willow and Xander were standing by Buffy while Angel stood over him, ready to knock his lights out again.

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Sorry to leave y'all hanging like that!

The conclusion to this story will come around soon!

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